The Music Of My Heart
by Daisuke Anarie
Summary: AU, KoujiTakuya. Takuya and Co. (except Kouji) are part of a garage band in Jiyuugaoka. Life is pretty much normal until they receive an invitation to Kouji's - a famous singer - concert, and then an offer they can't refuse! R&R! Random Plot.
1. Chapter One

The Music Of My Heart

By Daisuke Anarie

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or any related characters. Nor am I receiving money... So I suggest you don't sue. I have nothing to my name, so you'd most likely get nothing. Buuut, the 'lyrics' used in this fanfic _do_ belong to me, unless stated otherwise. See?! I can do something for myself!

Author's Note: Too many hours listening to Takuya's theme does something to you... So what?! I like his voice! It's too adorable for his good! Leave me alone! ... So, perhaps this is dedicated to the people who love Takuya's theme, too? Umm... Yeah.

Warning: Koukuya... or Takouji... Takoukuya... Takuya and Kouji! Something! Uh... Well, Shounen-ai! Yaoi! Slash! MaleMale! Oh, yes, beware the crappy poems used as lyrics written by moi that will be in future chapters. They aren't too good. I think... -Rebecca Lyn

Chapter One: Suicidal or Homicidal?

Takuya tapped his fingers against the tabletop as he read through the words written neatly on the paper in front of him. Frowning slowly, he repeated the text in his head, trying to figure out why it didn't sound right to him. What exactly was it missing? He furrowed his eyebrows and ceased tapping to rest his chin in his palm, eyes wandering idly to his friends, who were chattering while tuning their instruments.

They had started out as a simple garage band, but word spread of their existence and they worked their way up. All of Jiyuugaoka knew about them and they were continuously invited to coffee shops, parks, fairs, and other events to perform. They were even invited to Shibuya for a week. Takuya supposed they really were good.

There were five of them in all: Izumi, Junpei, Tomoki and his older brother, Yutaka, Kouichi, and himself. If he counted the ones that worked with sound and lighting, there would be over thirty, considering that a lot of people volunteered to help out with the technical parts.

Izumi was the only girl in the band, with long blonde hair and bright turquoise eyes, originally coming from Italy. She played the keyboard and some string instruments and did background vocals.

Tomoki was the youngest, being fourteen, but his skill at percussion made up for that. He was a good head shorter than Izumi, who was tall herself, and had dark brown hair and emerald eyes, like his brother, Yutaka. Yutaka was the oldest and had decided to take a break from college to stay with his family. He played percussion, as well.

Junpei was the second oldest, and the biggest, being burly and all. He played the bass. He was labeled 'Comic Relief' by Yutaka, and had spiked brown hair and eyes that matched.

Kouichi was considered Takuya's best friend. He had short, midnight blue hair chopped messily in layers and equally dark, haunting eyes. He didn't really enjoy instruments until Takuya got him into the electric guitar, which he would now play with ease. He also did background vocals.

Takuya seemed to be anonymously voted leader of the group. He played an acoustic guitar and sang lead vocals. He composed most of their music and wrote the majority of the lyrics, having a strange way with words. He had chestnut hair that curved out and up at his neck and large cinnamon eyes, matched with tanned skin.

He was thrown a cheery wave, which caused him to smile slightly before returning to the lyrics, nearly stumped. Another ten minutes of blank staring did him nothing, and finally, Izumi exclaimed, "Oh! I forgot to tell everyone!"

Everyone paused in his activity to look at her. The blonde grinned broadly; seeming unfazed by the piercing gazes, and took a moment to dig through her pockets until she yanked out a sheet of paper.

"What is it?" everyone asked in unison – a suspicious thing that happens when you spend too much time with the same people.

Izumi pranced about the stage at their confusion, laughing gleefully. "You don't know?" she cried between giggles. "It's an invitation!"

"Invitation?" Tomoki echoed.

That word caught Takuya's attention and he perked a bit, sitting up straight in his seat. "To what?" he spoke the unasked question.

Izumi giggled and placed her hands over her heart, pretending to swoon. "Why... we were invited to play in the introduction for a concert! Here in Jiyuugaoka, too!"

Kouichi sniggered at her act and shook his head. "Whom are we playing for?"

"Guess."

"Hey, no fair! Give us a clue!" Junpei argued.

Izumi grinned coyly. "Midnight blue eyes."

Yutaka groaned. "There are only so many of those..."

Takuya snorted as he lost interest and went back to scrutinizing the lyrics.

"Long dark hair in a ponytail?"

"That sounds familiar..."

Izumi sighed. "You guys are pathetic. _One_ last clue: he wears a bandana."

Tomoki's eyes lit up and he jumped on his toes. "Oh, oh, oh!! I know who it is! I just... what's his name?!" he wailed, the name momentarily slipping from his mind.

Takuya started to tap his fingers against the table again as he couldn't help but point out, "Izumi, you gave us two clues. It's a he and he wears a bandana. You should've said, 'The person, yada yada.'"

Junpei gave a yelp. "Oh, okay! I know who... the Minamoto guy that always glares. That's who it is."

"YES!" Izumi cheered. "He's so popular and handsome and... can you believe he's the same age as us?! Or, well... Most of us?!"

Takuya didn't look up from his task as he muttered, "I hate that guy..."

Unfortunately, Izumi heard. "_What?!_ How can you hate him? He's an awesome singer and so hott! H-O-T-T!" she screamed, almost in hysterics.

"Hot spelled with two Ts isn't a word," Takuya commented dully – he knew where this conversation would go. "I looked it up in the dictionary..."

"So? It's slang!" Izumi replied.

"I heard he's suicidal," Junpei shouted.

Izumi stared at him in horror.

"Homicidal is more like it," Takuya answered. "He cares too much about himself to take his own life. You got to remember, I knew the jerk at the beginning of junior high."

"That's so mean!" Izumi cried, looking about ready to strangle Takuya herself.

"The truth hurts," Takuya mumbled.

Yutaka had been leaning against the wall as they argued, until he suddenly pushed himself away, eyes widening slightly as he remembered. "Oh! You mean, that Kouji kid." When he was answered with nods, the eldest grinned. "Didn't Takuya have this huge unearthly crush on him?"

The brunette in question yelped as if in pain and jumped to his feet, knocking the chair he had been sitting in off balance and toppling to the floor with a clatter. "_NO_, no _way_!" he yelled. However, his face was as red was a tomato, confirming Yutaka's question.

Everyone sniggered quietly and Takuya flushed even more, but he quickly retrieved the fallen chair and sat down, denying it more quietly this time. "No, I would never like a jerk like him. Never..."

Izumi giggled and bounced over to Takuya, hugging his shoulders playfully with one arm and ruffling his hair with her free hand. "Aw, poor Kuya-chan. After being abandoned by sweet Kouji-kun, he won't forgive him, therefore denying any relationship he ever had with him!" she preached mockingly.

Takuya scowled and brushed her away from him, the blush painted on his cheeks fading at her speech.

She smirked and retreated without argument, but skipped to her backpack, earning her several wary looks. "And I know what'll make him feel o-so much better!" she sang. She slipped something from one of the front pouches, and then strolled to the CD player.

"Two guesses," Kouichi said with a sigh. He wasn't sure who to pity – Takuya, or Izumi after Takuya got his hands on her.

Takuya gave a howl of despair and cupped his hands over his ears as the sound of Minamoto Kouji's most recent CD boomed from the speakers set around the studio, clamping his eyes shut tight. It didn't help when Izumi started to sing – no, yell – the lyrics to the first song, just loud enough for him to hear.

It also didn't help when everyone, excluding Takuya and Kouichi, decided to sing along as they started to dance across the floor.

Kouichi chuckled softly as he heard Takuya begin to wail in protest, probably trying to drown out the music and his friends with his own noise. He walked off the stage and quickly stopped the CD player. There was a minute of silence...

Then Izumi started to cry in her own complaint and Takuya yelled his thanks, peeking his eyes open to see if it was safe.

Kouichi shrugged and grinned. "I only turned it off so the neighbors wouldn't say anything," he explained.

Izumi pouted, but piped down, and stalked back over to her keyboard.

Junpei returned to plucking chords before commenting, "I still think he's suicidal."

Takuya twitched and yelled his correction...

"_HOMICIDAL!!!_"

... No doubt, the neighbors could hear that... and it probably made them question the sanity of the six musicians...

Preview for the next chapter...

_**"What?! Why didn't you tell me about this?" Kouji yelled. His face was turning red with fury. "We don't need some group of street rats introducing us, especially to my home town!"**_

_**Ina lifted her hands in front of her face and shook her head. "I didn't mean to offend you... but I thought it would be something good for a change, after Mizuko-san and Mamoru-san quit. Besides," the manager trailed off for a moment.**_

_**Kouji glared at her and crossed his arms over his chest. "What?" he demanded.**_

_**A small smirk flittered across Ina's face before she replied. "I think you'll be interested in who we picked," she said casually. "Especially one certain brunette." She waved a slip of paper under Kouji's nose until he became more agitated and snatched it away.**_

_**Still glaring, he looked at the paper, reading through its contents. His expression changed to that of confusion, and then shock, and lastly, horror, as he read the names of the members that belonged to this garage band.**_

"**WHAT?!_"_**

**_The smirk on Ina's face grew in satisfaction. That was _exactly _the response she wanted._**


	2. Chapter Two

The Music Of My Heart

By Daisuke Anarie

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or any related characters. Nor am I receiving money... So I suggest you don't sue. I have nothing to my name, so you'd most likely get nothing. Buuut, the 'lyrics' used in this fanfic _do_ belong to me, unless stated otherwise. See?! I can do something for myself!

Author's Note: Too many hours listening to Takuya's theme does something to you... So what?! I like his voice! It's too adorable for his good! Leave me alone! ... So, perhaps this is dedicated to the people who love Takuya's theme, too? Umm... Yeah.

Warning: Koukuya... or Takouji... Takoukuya... Takuya and Kouji! Something! Uh... Well, Shounen-ai! Yaoi! Slash! MaleMale! Oh, yes, beware the crappy poems used as lyrics written by moi that will be in future chapters. They aren't too good. I think... -Daisuke Anarie

Chapter Two: F.Y.R.E. Phoenix?

The next thirty or so minutes were spent in silence as the group of six piddled around, doing pretty much nothing. Tomoki was the one who finally asked the inevitable. "When do we perform?"

Izumi's answer was quick and short. "Saturday night, forty-five minutes after six."

Junpei blinked, and then stared at her in horror. "_This_ Saturday night?!"

Izumi nodded.

"But that only gives us, like, what? Less than seventy-two hours to prepare!" he cried in disbelief.

This was another little detail that caught Takuya's attention. He glared at Izumi heatedly. "Are you trying to ruin us?" he shot at her.

Izumi seemed to ignore him and went on as she paced along the stage. "They expect us to perform two new songs, which I'm _sure_ Takuya _has_ prepared anyways."

Takuya scowled and glared at the paper on the table. "I'm _not_ prepared, Izumi!" he exclaimed, but he, again, was ignored.

The blonde appeared to be in a world of her own as she spoke aloud to herself. "Even if he doesn't, it'll be finished by Saturday. And since we are pretty decent sight-readers, we could pull off performing and not knowing the music without much of a problem at all!"

Multiple sighs sounded throughout the studio and Takuya stacked the papers together and stood up, defeated. He picked them up and trudged over to the stage, where everyone else was. "Well, since Izumi has so much confidence in me, let's see what everyone else think of what I've written so far," he announced, before passing out the papers.

-

They were close to Tokyo now, and Kouji sat in a seat, staring out the window of the RV while absently strumming a tune on his guitar. He wasn't sure if he was happy to return to his hometown or not, but everyone else seemed excited enough that he might had well not argue. He still wasn't convinced that performing in Jiyuugaoka was a good idea.

The seventeen-year-old looked away from the window as he heard a dainty hum coming from the small bedroom in the back of the motor home. His hyper manager, Kei Ina, grinned at him through her song, her cell phone held loosely in her hand. He noticed that the screensaver hadn't popped up on it yet, so he assumed she had either just took a call or made one.

Ina plopped down next to Kouji and ceased humming. "Well, the concert is without a doubt confirmed," she announced.

Kouji wasn't surprised.

"And..." Ina started, but couldn't finish as her grin nearly cracked her lips.

He shot her a nasty glare and gave up on playing louder on the guitar than she talked. "What?"

"I just got informed that that new group I've been telling you about in Jiyuugaoka will be there to hit off the concert with two of their new songs!" She stopped and thought for a moment before commenting to herself, "Don't they call themselves _F.Y.R.E. Phoenix_?"

Kouji blinked several times. Then...

"What?! Why didn't you tell me about this before?" Kouji yelled. His face was turning red with fury. "We don't need some group of street rats introducing us, especially to my home town!"

Ina lifted her hands in front of her face and shook her head. "I didn't mean to offend you... but I thought it would be something good for a change, after Mizuko-san and Mamoru-san quit. Besides," the manager trailed off for a moment.

Kouji glared at her and crossed his arms over his chest. "What?" he demanded.

A small smirk flittered across Ina's face before she replied. "I think you'll be interested in who we picked," she said casually. "Especially one certain brunette." She waved a slip of paper under Kouji's nose until he became more agitated and snatched it away.

Still glaring, he looked at the paper, reading through its contents. His expression changed to that of confusion, and then shock, and lastly, horror, as he read the names of the members that belonged to this garage band.

_Orimoto Izumi ... Keyboard and Strings, Backup Vocals_

_Shibayama Junpei ... Bass Guitar_

_Himi Tomoki ... Percussion_

_Himi Yutaka ... Percussion_

_Kimura Kouichi ... Electric Guitar, Backup Vocals_

_Kanbara Takuya ... Acoustic Guitar, Lead Vocals_

"WHAT?!"

The smirk on Ina's face grew in satisfaction. That was exactly the response she wanted.

Kouji managed another glare as he stood up and carefully made his way towards the bedroom, carrying his guitar with him. He quickly returned the instrument to its case and threw himself down on the bed. He wasn't very surprised as he felt tears burn at his eyes.

He buried his face in the one of the two pillows at the head of the bed, murmuring his once-best friend and always-crush's name as he fought back tears that threatened to spill from his eyes. "Ta-Takuya..."

-

Izumi released a hiccupping sob and scrubbed at her eyes, and then grabbed Takuya, pulling him into a bear hug. "That was so saaad!" she wailed.

Takuya sweatdropped and struggled to get out of Izumi's death grip. He certainly hadn't expected Izumi to cry over something he wrote. Unfortunately, he was unable to escape. He looked around at the others, silently begging them for help, but they seemed close to tears, too.

"Are you okay, Takuya?!" Izumi cried. "Do you need to see a therapist?! Do we need to buy you a double-chocolate fudge sundae?! Ohh please, please tell us what we can do to help you feel better!!"

If it hadn't been him, Takuya would have laughed his head off, but it was himself, so he was forced to put up with it. "Izumi. I'm fine," he said firmly, finally able to wiggle out of the female's arms. "It's just a song. Nothing to get worked up about."

Izumi sniffled loudly, pouting as she stared at Takuya with large, watery puppy dog eyes. "A-are you sure?"

"Positive."

There was a long break of silence.

"... Okay!" Almost immediately, Izumi perked back to her normal cheery self.

Takuya shook his head and collected the papers back from the others. "Will the song work?"

Everyone nodded eagerly.

"Alright..."

Yutaka absently ruffled the hair of his little brother, who yawned widely. "Well... I suggest we turn in for the night."

There were mumbles of agreement and they finally said goodbye, one by one wandering out of the studio.

When they hit the sidewalk and felt the cool breeze brush against their faces, Kouichi turned to look at Takuya. "Hey, don't worry about this thing with Kouji," he said.

Takuya tilted his head to look at Kouichi silently.

Kouichi grinned gently. "Everything will work out."

The brunette sighed and nodded. "Okay, whatever you say..."

"Good night, Takuya."

"'Night, Kouichi."

Preview for the next chapter...

"**_Actually, I kind of want to see Kouji's reaction to that song," he explained softly. "I want to see if he realizes that the Takuya he knew a long time ago, happy, energetic Takuya, wrote that... about _him_."_**

_**Yutaka smirked faintly. "Putting him back in his place, hmm, Takuya?"**_

_**Takuya nodded and grinned darkly. "Of course."**_

**_Izumi tried to contain a giggle, and failed, as she stated, "That's odd. I always thought that would be _Kouji's_ job, to put _likkle uke Kuya-chan_ back in his place." That last part was said in her infamous, sing-song voice._**

**_The whole studio erupted into howls of laughter and snorts, but Takuya only blushed and glared daggers at her, muttering, "'S not funny..." At least they weren't sulking over the song, though. However, when the laughter failed to cease, he wailed out, "I'm nooot an uke!!"_**


	3. Chapter Three

The Music Of My Heart 

By Daisuke Anarie

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or any related characters. Nor am I receiving money... So I suggest you don't sue. I have nothing to my name, so you'd most likely get nothing. Buuut, the 'lyrics' used in this fanfic _do_ belong to me, unless stated otherwise. See?! I can do something for myself!

Author's Note: Too many hours listening to Takuya's theme does something to you... So what?! I like his voice! It's too adorable for his good! Leave me alone! ... So, perhaps this is dedicated to the people who love Takuya's theme, too? Umm... Yeah.

Warning: Koukuya... or Takouji... Takoukuya... Takuya and Kouji! Something! Uh... Well, Shounen-ai! Yaoi! Slash! MaleMale! Oh, yes, beware the crappy poems used as lyrics written by moi that will be in future chapters. They aren't too good. I think... -Daisuke

Chapter Three: Likkle Uke Kuya-chan

Within the next thirty-six hours, Takuya had neglected his over-the-summer homework and dedicated the majority of his time to completing the two songs they would perform. Despite how much time he lacked to prepare and that he didn't work his best under pressure, the brunette felt that the results were satisfactory and would have to do. Now, this next day or so would be completely focused on learning the pieces. Which meant they'd be locked in the studio way past their bedtimes with hardly any breaks.

"What key is it in?" Junpei yelled over the raucous of everyone scrambling around to get his or her instrument ready.

"The usual," Takuya replied dully as he tapped the microphone, the sound echoing a bit louder, signaling that it was indeed on. He gave his father and brother, Shinya, a thumbs-up to tell them that the sound seemed to be working just fine.

"Both songs?" Junpei asked again.

Takuya swallowed a sigh of exasperation and nodded. "Yup." He must've failed to scribble down the key signature on the music sheets. "That's what happens, though," he mumbled to himself, making sure he wasn't close enough to the mic for it to pick him up. "And if I forgot to put it, _Moonlight_ is three/four time, and _Cry _is four/four, but it changes to two/four in the middle," he raised his voice to say.

"That's simple enough," Izumi commented lightly as she fiddled with the different sounds her keyboard would play.

The leader brunette glared over his shoulder at her. "Are we ready?"

There was a chorus of the affirmative.

Takuya allowed himself a sigh of relief. "Okay, good. Let's go through both without the vocals," he offered. It was accepted without hesitance. "Moonlight song first," he said quietly, just loud enough for them to hear. There were a few nods and Izumi quickly reset her keyboard to the default 'grand piano' sound, since the piano started off the song, while the others flipped to the right song and waited quietly. She pressed down on one key for the starting pitch and looked at Takuya, who nodded silently.

Takuya retrieved a small metronome and set it to the tempo necessary, then draped the strap on his guitar across his shoulders. He gave Izumi the first three beats before the starting measure, and then she began to play. He looked away from her fingers, which danced along the keys and focused on his copy of the music, for the part of his acoustic guitar would come next. He ignored the lyrics altogether when he started his part, strumming gently at the guitar strings.

Shortly after, Tomoki and Yutaka joined with light percussion and bells.

The bass and electric guitar had been excluded from this piece, to the momentary dismay of Junpei and Kouichi. Takuya had claimed that this song was meant to have a mystical, calm, and flowing sound. Instead, they were given keyboards, but with different tones – a flute and clarinet. Fortunately, everyone had been taught the piano in junior high and into high school, so his or her knowledge of the instrument was suiting. They would enter the song at the first chorus.

The piece lasted about four minutes and the final notes hung in the air when it was over. Everyone remained silent as they flipped back through the song, double checking places they were unsure of. Takuya nodded to himself in approval – there had been a few mistakes, but otherwise, it had turned out good for their first time through it.

He was brought out of his thoughts by his father's clapping and Shinya's whistles. He blushed faintly and looked around at the others, who were also slightly red. He ignored the comment that their small audience was eager to hear the lyrics to the song as well, and went to the next one.

The piece, _Cry_, changed time signatures, so he put the metronome away and took it on himself to keep time for everyone with a soft tap of his toe against the stage. Kouichi and Junpei returned to their key instruments, grinning at Takuya as they passed him. He managed a smile back.

Once finished, they admitted that the latter piece was a bit more difficult and contained some tricky rhythm. Takuya couldn't count how many times the words _angst_, _depressing_, and _dread_ were mentioned, but he could understand that. This song, unlike _Moonlight_, was meant to have a haunting, sad sound with its angsty fast beat. Yutaka finally commented to them quietly that it reminded him of the score for a murderer or suicidal person.

Takuya could only smile weakly at the others, as their moods seemed to slump. "Actually, I kind of want to see Kouji's reaction to that song," he explained softly. "I want to see if he realizes that the Takuya he knew a long time ago, happy, energetic Takuya, wrote that... about _him_."

Yutaka smirked faintly. "Putting him back in his place, hmm, Takuya?"

Takuya nodded and grinned darkly. "Of course."

Izumi tried to contain a giggle, and failed, as she stated, "That's odd. I always thought that would be _Kouji's_ job, to put _likkle uke Kuya-chan_ back in his place." That last part was said in her infamous, sing-song voice.

The whole studio erupted into howls of laughter and snorts, but Takuya only blushed and glared daggers at her, muttering, "'S not funny..." At least they weren't sulking over the song, though. However, when the laughter failed to cease, he wailed out, "I'm nooot an uke!!"

This went on for at least another thirty minutes – Izumi teasing Takuya, Takuya protesting against Izumi, and the others laughing madly while throwing in random comments that brought the slowly dying squabble to an uproar all over again. But, like every normal human being, they tired themselves out and finally slumped down on one of the few couches set up in one far corner, exhausted and throat raw from yelling.

"I'm hungry. Starved, even," Junpei said slowly after looking at the clock and seeing that it was past noon. There were murmurs of agreement, but no one made any suggestions or movement to get up.

"How 'bout popcorn?" Kouichi asked dully. Of course, everyone knew what would be said next.

"With peanut butter and honey?" Tomoki chirped; sitting up to look at everyone with begging eyes – Yutaka gave a disgusted look.

Izumi giggled, as usual, "Why not?"

Takuya grinned and somehow managed to bounce up from the comfortable cushion. "Peanut butter and honey popcorn it is, then!" he exclaimed. He then motioned for the others to get up, too, despite their moans. "C'mon, every hand helps and every hand gets messy!" He got several dirty looks. "'Sides, we'll need more than one bags of popcorn for this lot of starving beasts, and I can only pop so many bags by myself." He quickly dodged three pillows thrown his way and stuck his tongue out at them. "No one helps, then I get all the popcorn!"

The reply was unanimous. "NO WAY!"

Preview to the next chapter... 

Having being there so many times, the group of six made their way to the back of the building, where they went in from a back entrance/exit. Takuya's father greeted them almost instantly. He embraced them all, one by one, as he announced, "We're doing sound checks right now. Your instruments are all set up, so you can go onstage and make sure everything's in tune."

"Right," Takuya said, and they all headed towards the stage, taking a path that would easily avoid whoever was backstage and from Kouji's group.

The auditorium was deserted, except for the ones running the checks, and they immediately set to work tuning their instruments. Everything was working properly, to their relief, and they joked to each other cheerfully.

As it ticked closer to six forty-five, Kanbara-san waved at them from below and called, "Anyone nervous?"

The answer was without hesitation, "No way!"

-Author's Note: Yes, peanut butter and honey popcorn. Really, it's good!


End file.
